Your Favorite Celebrities’ Summer Reads 2016
21 Jun 2016
The sun is shining and summer has officially begun! Some of our favorite celebrities have been snapping pics of their current reads and sharing their summer read picks on social media. To help you find a celebrity-approved beach read, we did some research and found out what the bookish stars are reading this summer!
Your Favorite Celebrities’ Summer Reads 2016
Sweetbitter
Stephanie Danler
Recommended by: Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts, star of Scream Queens and the upcoming film Nerve, recently recommended Sweetbitter on her Instagram. If you’ve ever been a twenty-something trying to find yourself in a big city, then you might relate to this new novel. It’s set in New York City, and it follows a young woman named Tess as she navigates her way through Manhattan’s restaurant scene. She gets a job at a fancy restaurant downtown and is quickly pulled into the alluring life of “The City That Never Sleeps.”
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Innocents and Others
Dana Spiotta
Recommended by: Lena Duhnam
You can count on ardent feminist Lena Duhnam, who is on the popular HBO show Girls, to recommend a great read about women in film. Innocents and Others follows the lives of two female filmmakers who are best friends but don’t share the same views on life. While one is reserved and keeps to herself, the other is sensual and uses her listening skills to seduce men. This book is a great reminder of how meaningful female friendships are, especially when we come from different walks of life.
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The Argonauts
Maggie Nelson
Recommended by: Emma Watson
As the actress who portrayed our favorite book-loving witch for nearly a decade, Emma Watson is one of our favorite bookish icons in Hollywood. Just like Hermione, she is an avid reader and recently started a feminist book club called “Our Shared Shelf.” Her pick for May was The Argonauts, which is a memoir that discusses the intersections of sexuality, gender, and child-rearing. The author takes us through her pregnancy experience and shows what it’s like to start a family as a queer couple.
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The Vital Question
Nick Lane
Recommended by: Bill Gates
If there’s anyone who can recommend a good book, it’s Bill Gates. He often writes about his book recommendations on his website, and he recently suggested five books that people should read this summer. One of these suggestions is The Vital Question, which aims to uncover the truth behind how life developed on Earth. Nick Lane, the author of the book, emphasizes the importance of energy in the creation of life and describes how it can help us thrive in the future.
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Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Recommended by: Olivia Wilde
As actress Olivia Wilde stated in her Instagram post, “the world will be a more evolved place once we all read this book.” In his award winning memoir, Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses issues of race and his experience as a black man in America. The book is framed as a letter to his son, and it touches on his concerns about growing up in a world that’s working against him just because of the color of his skin. If life had a required reading list, Between the World and Me would definitely be on the top of it.
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Where the Light Gets In
Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Recommended by: Reese Witherspoon
If you’ve ever had to take care of an aging family member, then you’ll be able to relate to Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s story in Where the Light Gets In. Actress Reese Witherspoon recently featured this memoir in her monthly book club, calling it “a moving exploration of the love between a mother and daughter.” Williams-Paisley’s mother was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia in her early 60’s, which affected both her memories and her ability to talk. In this powerful tale of family bonds, Williams-Paisley will remind you of the importance of unconditional love and acceptance.
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All About Love
bell hooks
Recommended by: Kate Hudson
All throughout life, we struggle with trying to figure out what love is and how to find it. Actress Kate Hudson recently picked up All About Love, which is an older book that looks deeply into the complexities of love. Bell Hooks is a cultural critic and feminist who used her experiences to analyze how people seek and crave emotional connections with the others around them. Many people have referred to Hooks as a visionary, and this books is a vivid example of her impressive cultural insight.
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It’s All Easy
Gwyneth Paltrow
Recommended by: Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is best known for his role in Modern Family and his broadway play Fully Committed. He recently shared his excitement about Gwyneth Paltrow’s newest cookbook, It’s All Easy, on his Instagram account. When you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to get off the couch after a long day at work, cooking can sometimes be a daunting task. Luckily, the recipes in her book are easy AND tasty. What more could you ask for?
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My Life on the Road
Gloria Steinem
Recommended by: Karlie Kloss
Along with many other notable women, American model Karlie Kloss joined in on the excitement surrounding Emma Watson’s feminist book club. She started by reading the first selection for the club, which was Gloria Steinem’s new memoir My Life on the Road. Steinem has been an active voice in the feminist movement for a long time, and her life has been significantly impacted by her time spent moving around and traveling. In this memoir, she discusses how her experiences on “the road” have shaped her into the person she is today.
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Reclaiming Conversation
Sherry Turkle
Recommended by: Matt McGorry
In today’s digital age, it’s important to think about how the technology we use affects us and our relationships with the people around us. Matt McGorry, who has roles in popular shows such as Orange is the New Black and How to Get Away with Murder, hailed Sherry Turkle’s newest book as a “wonderful, thought-provoking read” about living in the social media era. Even though we feel more connected through digital forms of communication and connection, Turkle suggests that we may not be spending enough time alone with our own thoughts.
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